Hauraki Catchment Board Files – Thames

The Hauraki Catchment Board was established under the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act 1941 (and amendments). This Act was labelled ‘An Act to make provision for the conservation of soil resources and for the prevention of damage by erosion, and to make better provision with respect to the protection of property from damage by floods’. The first Catchment Boards were set up in 1943 and the Hauraki Catchment Board was established in 1947. The Board consisted of a maximum of 16 members, several governmental representatives from the: Ministry of Works and Development, Department of Lands and Survey, N. Z. Forest Service (after 1961), Department of Agriculture, and the majority of whom were elected from the local community. After 1958 the Farm Advisory Officers of the Department of Agriculture were transferred to the Ministry of Works and Development. Under the 1941 Act, Catchment Authorities were made responsible for flood control, drainage, soil conservation and controlling erosion. The administrative boundaries were generally catchment boundaries so that the Catchment Board's boundaries usually did not coincide with the Local County boundaries. Counties could also opt out of a Board's control, as in Coromandel where north of the Tararu and Tairua River Catchments the Act was administered by the Ministry of Works. The Water and Soil Conservation Act 1967 (and amendments), gave Catchment Authorities the dual role of regional water boards. As a result they became responsible for administering the water resources of the region. This involved the issuing of water rights for the take and discharge of water and the drawing up of water allocation plans for various users. The reform of the LA’s led to the formation of Regional Councils and as a consequence of this reform many Catchment Boards were amalgamated into wider regions where the political boundaries as opposed to catchment boundaries were used to define regions. The Hauraki Catchment Board was thus amalgamated into the Waikato Region, as was the northern part of the Coromandel Peninsula. Early file records for the northern part of the Coromandel Peninsula are contained in the files of Coromandel County and Ministry of Works Auckland (files cover the early part of the period) and later Hamilton. The file records for the southern part of the Coromandel Peninsula, south of Tararu and Tairua south to Waihi, are to be found in the Thames County records and also the Hauraki Catchment Board files. The early coastal records often refer to wharf structures, construction and maintenance as there was initially little roading present. However, with the development of roads in this area the beaches became a ready source of roading aggregate, particularly the shingle beaches of the Coromandel west coast. In 1922, a survey of the condition of the beaches used for shingle extraction indicated that many were over exploited. This resulted in a recommendation that the Marine Department close all beaches for extraction, south of a line between Long Bay (Auckland) and the Colville Channel. This effectively closed the Coromandel west coast beaches to sand extraction. The removal of sand and shingle for local use, particularly roading, continued around the Peninsula into the 1980s. Some sand was taken from the mouth of Whangapoua Harbour by dredging the ebb tide bar. This material was sold in Auckland. Similarly, sand was removed from the Maori Land block at the South end of Whiritoa Beach with the consent of the Maori Trustee. This material was also sold in Auckland. The majority of the Hauraki Catchment Board file notes centre around the problems with coastal development. Levelling dunes to create building sites was one problem, but the more controversial aspect was the width of the building set back from the high water mark (HWM). In 1984 the Hauraki Board came up with some guidelines for future developments which were superseded in a report by Environment Waikato (2002). Purpose: See data abstract below

• 1/22/0 Shingle from water courses. Volume 2. Report starts February 1957. Associated files: Lands and Survey file 3/686 Hamilton district Office. The land settlement Board was working a license to extract shingle, however it was not specified where they would be doing the extraction. SC, RCC and L&S issued a circular in 1956/7 on the control of shingle extraction in rivers; 1. In tidal rivers or where tidal action occurs it was owned by the Crown and controlled by the Marine dept, 2. Navigable rivers (as defined in s206 of the Coal Mines Act 1925) owned by the Crown and administered by L&S, 3. Non-navigable waterways where there are fishing or road reserves owned by Crown and administered by L&S, 4. On all other water courses the shingle is owned by the adjoining landowner. • 1/22/0 Shingle from water courses. Volume 3. Report starts October 1971. NWASCO (file 72/2/1/11) produced draft guidelines for shingle extraction from New Zealand rivers and coasts. Many of the small streams in the Matamata - Piako area were mined for race metal for local farms in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. • 1/22/0 Shingle from water courses Volume 4. Report starts April 1978. The file commences with a report on sand mining in the Coromandel Peninsula (Works file 47/16) stating that the HCB is to phase out mining in any area suspected of being a closed system or where there is insufficient information about the resource. There are a series of applications to mine sand from the entrance of Whangamata Harbour, Tairua Harbour, Whitianga Harbour and the Katikati entrance to Tauranga Harbour. • 1/22/0 Shingle from water courses. Volume 6. Report starts July 1982. From late 1982 through to 1984 the Board were conducting a sand and shingle resource assessment for the whole of their region. A table of material used and the source for the previous two years is included in the report. It was noted that there had been a number of “one off” extractions approved in connection with bridge construction around the Peninsula. There is a draft copy of the Sand and Gravel Report. • 2/2/1 Kauaeranga River Protection Works. Report starts June 1937. Flood of 4 February 1938 had the flood peak and high water at the same time. A proposal was made to construct a stopbank to prevent further flooding of Thames. The proposed structure was to be 25 chain (500 m) long. Works file (Auckland 12/130 and Paeroa 2/53). Noted that the 1936 flood was much more severe that the 1938 flood. Also there had been a serious flood in 1924 when the SH 15 bridge was under construction. Plan No. 1467 is a plan of the proposed works and shows the extent of the flooding. The report noted that the floods were characterised by their short duration and the lack of silt deposited. An alternative proposal to the stop bank was to relocate the river to flow south of the aerodrome. There was a recommendation to increase the area of State Forest as further flood protection. Thames County opposed forestry as it saw increased economic activity as a part of the land clearance. Methods of river control were willow planting along banks together with groynes to deflect water away from the banks. Other information held on Works river file 96/093000. • 2/2/1 Kauaeranga River Protection Works. Volume 2. This file covers the political history but there is no environmental information. • 2/2/4 Waiotahi Stream. Report starts 1954. The file refers to a stream located at the north end of Thames. (Related file 2/3/094000). Little information is available until June 1970, when a proposal was made to divert the stream as part of the Thames Harbour development and reclamation programme. File notes that the Borough was beautifying the reserve on the north bank of the stream. Also noted was the fact that rubbish from the earlier dump was being exposed along the stream channel. The reserve was parallel to Burke Street and was aimed at reclamation of the adjacent mud flats. • 2/2/3 Kauaeranga River Stopbanks (Hudson and Hazlett) Report period 1951-1953. File addresses a proposal by a farmer to stopbank his property on the south side of the aerodrome. The Thames Borough was afraid that the stopbank would cause flooding. The stopbank was more of an overflow channel into the Waihou River channel. It appears that farmers in the region were building private stopbank’s without Catchment Board approval. • 2/2/2 Waikeikei Stream Now file 2/3/094000 (river file). Report period 1952 to 1976. There may be an error in the modern file number as the catchment number is 093020. The file discusses clearing and rebuilding of the stream channel into the Kauaeranga River. Here there appears to have been a flood event in August-September 1960. As a consequence the Board was asked to inspect the stream channels for stability and clean out debris because of the possible flood danger should heavy rain occur in the near future. There is a section of the file about legalising the river reserve to sort out the administration of the reserve by the Hauraki Catchment Board or the Thames Borough Council. • 2/2/1 Kauaeranga River Works – Protection Works, Thames Volume 3. Report period 1971-1975. The file is a management file rather than a data file. It outlines the negotiations between various organisations as part of the Waihou Valley Scheme. Calculation of the 100 year flood in the Kauaeranga River gave a value of 1,700 m3/s. • 2/11/0 Eastern Catchments. Parts of Thames and Ohinemuri Counties. Volume 3. Report covers January 1974 to August 1975. In 1974, Thames County Council wrote to Hauraki Catchment Board and sent a letter showing the position of the toe of the fore dune. The survey was done by W. A. Stace (County surveyor). There is no copy of the survey in the file. • 2/11/0 Eastern Catchments–Parts of Ohinemuri and Thames Counties Volume 2. Report covers 1971–1974. May 1971: Thames County Council proposed to use galvanised posts for beach protection works. • 2/11/0 Eastern Catchments: Parts Thames and Ohinemuri Counties. Report covers 1963–1971. The flood of 8 March 1962 was the second or third highest flood in the previous 26–30 years. Largest flood was that of Jan-Feb 1936.

Thames township and surrounds

1937 - 1982

Frequency of collection: Irregular

Quality variable. Gaps in collection: Some gaps in data collection Data quality: Quality variable

Hard copy written files

This data is publicly available in TCDC archives. Sensitivity/Confidentiality: No confidentiality – public information.

Files closed

Report by J.G. Gibb A foredune survey done by W. A. Stace (County surveyor) Related information: These files are related to Ministry of Works, Ministry of Transport and Hauraki Catchment Board files.